Saturday, October 31, 2009

Just in case you're wondering...what is that woman up to...is it gonna be cute?....well, I am up for fun times making this quilt and of course, it's gonna be cute! Dog not includeded.

Did you notice her Christmas dress? She will wear it for weeks, knowing she is the bomb!

Quilt in picture is for dh back seat for his little princess, Ola Meja, his baby boy Poco and the new girl on the block....Zipper...dont' ask! As you can see, the "kids" love em, so do our 2 legged ones, lol, they wash very well and last forever!

I had someone ask...do we have to use flannel shirts for the back? Nope, just trying to make it a penny pincher delight. You can also use a flannel sheet in good condition, or if you have a friend or relative who has flannel scraps, beg them off for this one. If you want to spend the $, you could always pick up 6 yards of flannel...can be pricey if you do this. The further along in the project you might find something perfect...don't get worried about it yet, take a breath, something will work out.

Let me know if you are going to follow, we'll get your names up on the side bar and have something fun going, k? Off to bed for me, rough nite and another 2 coming up. Full moon, Saturday nite, Halloween....oh please, let me work in the ER! Ha,ha,ha.....what WAS I thinking? Don't let me fool ya, I love it! See ya tomorrow...Elaine

Friday, October 30, 2009

I hope this answers a few questions about the blue jean quilts. There are many patterns, this one is my favorite.

I use a 6 1/2" square of denim, a 6 1/2" square of backing and @ a 4ish" square of batting, like this:

You can use any fabric you would like for the backing, I prefer flannel as if feels softer, like the jeans, after many washings. If you would like, you can sew the jean squares together and eliminate the back/batting altogether. If you notice in this picture,

the flannels are different. One is green plaid the other is a Christmas print. This is a great way to use up pieces of odds and ends to make up the back. Scrappy is good, emptying the scrap box is great! If you don't want to use flannel shirts, then use something else. I am also using jeans that are really old fashioned...remember the acid wash jeans? OMG (oh my gosh), I just aged myself! If you also notice, the jeans pictured above appear to have paint splatters, just adds to the design! Trust me, you're gonna love this project...that is, if you ever wanted to make one of these quilts. Relax, have fun with this and just see how "cheap" you can get! (see the little leftover chunks of batting...the pink is actually a large piece of felt I picked up somewhere and chopped up for this project...yep, felt works really well!)

I am off to work for the weekend and won't be back until Monday sometime. I am not going to answer any letters personally, just collectively, time crunch. If you have any questions, just ask and I will try to answer in another post. Thanks for reading...Elaine

Thursday, October 29, 2009

I mentioned to a friend a few weeks ago that she should consider making a jean quilt for her 2 boys since she was lamenting the cost of everything these days. After reading another blog I discovered that a lot more people then I had realized were in the same boat, so to speak, of needing some thrifty presents for the holidays. I have made all the son in laws, bils, nephews and children, friends of...well, you get the point. No one has complained, they actually love them. I made a smaller version for the hubby to put in the back seat of his truck for his dogs. These quilts are easy care for, throw em in the wash and dryer. They actually get softer with each use.

The first thing to do, this week-end, is to collect jeans, wash and dry them. You will need @ 20 pair for a queen size quilt, or 12-14 pair for the couch cuddler size. It doesn't matter if they are frayed, paint splattered, greasy, or holey. If you have ocd, you need to put it on hold for this project!

Now, hit the yard sales, flea markets, and thrift stores. You will also need several long sleeve shirts, preferably flannel, to use for the backing of the quilt. Pre wash the shirts, DON'T IRON THEM EVEN IF YOU FEEL YOU HAVE TO...remember the "leave your ocd at the door", it still applys. Cut all the buttons off the shirts and start your own button jar! (You might also ask the clerk if they have any shirts or other fabric items they can't sell...you might get them free! Try not to pay over 50 cents a pair for the jeans...takes the thrift part out of the quilt. Call your sisters, aunts, neighbors...bug everyone you know for a pair or two...they will gladly get rid of them, hopefully!)

Stay tuned...Monday will be the next installment of the Christmas thrifty quilt-a-thon! Elaine

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Am I like the very last person on the planet to go to Ikea? Unreal, I tell ya. It rained all the way in to north Dallas and on the way home. Now they doing high water rescues in parts of Dallas, Fort Worth and nearby. The TV news just showed a UPS truck trapped...and the driver refused to leave his packages. I love UPS.

Anyhoodle...I bought $300.00+ storage units for my sewing room. I also bought a couple chunks of fabric...how could anyone resist? I love that store, I want to go back tomorrow, lol. I should work there. I wonder if they hire nurses, lol?

So what do you think of the star quilt? I may need to buy the whole line, simply wonderful gorgeous stuff.

I have more units to pound together...I love the instructions...pictures only, no words, perfect! I am so excited to FINALLY get some storage solutions for my fabrics. No, I haven't forgot my magazines either, just in the "thinking" stage, attempting to digest all the wonderful comments you all gave me. Stay tuned...Elaine

Post pics of the civil war pre-order quilt kits that won't be available until Feb of next year. This is an exact replica of a found quilt, down to the cheddar shades. It is truly awesome. I can hardly wait.

Finishing up my baby bibs and burp cloths for the new babies.

Quilting some flannel tops.

Lots of things needing done....then dh asked me if I wanted to head out to Ikea...sorry, have to go!

Monday, October 19, 2009

ARLETTE from Costa Rica! Congrats Arlette, I hope you like your prize!

Thanks everyone for entering and for the wonderful ideas you all gave me. I tried to respond to all the comments. If I missed you, it was not on purpose.

My forearm/wrist is feeling much better, thanks to your ideas on that issue.

My Moda rep was by today and showed me what is coming...be prepared for some delicious inspiration. There is a pre-Civil war quilt that is remade and will be coming in a kit. I'll try to upload a pic of it later tonight. You will be able to pre-order it...you won't believe the cheddars in it! Gorgeous quilt.

Off to make dinner then some sewing is in order. Now, go quilt something, Elaine

Friday, October 16, 2009

I found some little tops, or could be tops, for dolly quilts. So I put them together for the girls. I even found a sugar sack for the back of one of them. Machine quilted, washed and dried for the crinkle.

So, do you think they will be a little surprised when they get older and realize mawmaw signed and dated them BEFORE they were born, lol?

The giveaway is still going. Don't forget to answer my question: what to do with all the quilting mags I have collected? I need to take a pic of them...but I don't have them together...takes too much space!

Thursday, October 15, 2009

These are the two baby quilts, side by side. They are very unlike each other...really. The one with straight line quilting, in white thread, is for Allie, the wavy line quilting in Valdani (lucious overdyed) thread is for Kayla. If you zoom in you can see the quilting much better. I had to show little slices of the lawn...this is what 4 1/2" of rain does to a burned out lawn, lol. Get out the boat, matey!

This is the backs of the quilts. I took hints from several online quilters for these two. The backs are pillow cases and leftover pieces, loving this look! It's going to be hard to get these babies off in the mail, I love em both! Oh well, better get busy on another.

All that is left is to sign and date them. I'm kind of like Millie, the ones I have just finished are usually my favorites. Thanks for all your comments, still a few days to go for the giveaway...don't forget to blog about it and let me know you did.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

I went out to that big store...oh, you know which one, lol...and purchased the wrist splint and feel like I have a new life! Wow, what can I say? It works, and thank you bloggy friends for the little push.

I tried to take pics of the giveaway goodies but I am not to be admired for my photo abilities. Check out the lucious pumpkin orange bella solid...according to one of my brick and mortar, "it's Bevo orange", hmm, ok. Bevo is the name of the longhorn associated with the Texas A&M University mascot. If you never hear from me again...it's because I blew that one! The chocolate is on the right...one yard of each. The pattern is by SuzGuz designs and is fabulistic...I LOVE her patterns! Below is #35 wt Valdani hand dyed cotton for either machine or hand sewing, embroidery, tatting, serger, or longarm. To the right of the pattern is a box of 3 ply embroidery cottons, overdyed in the most gorgeous tints and colors, all ready for your next project. This too is from valdani.com. Keep those comments coming while I search for those elusive double issues of my quilt mags, lol. Like anyone would ever want them!

I wanted to put up pics of my granddaughters baby quilts. I have had so much fun making them. This one is for Allie, she is coming the end of January. I'll show the back tomorrow. Later, Elaine

Monday, October 12, 2009

My right arm is giving me fits especially when I type. I think I may need to find some kind of wrist support to help alleviate the discomfort so I can get back to my blog. I read everyone elses but need to take 800 mg of Ibuprofen after more then 2 minutes of typing and before I know it, weeks have flown by and my little blog is still empty.

I have attempted to set my sewing room into a workable happy place...omg, give me a break! Boxes falling on my head, plastic bins stacked high enough to give a cat a nose bleed. Sheesh...then I watch a few episodes of Hoarders and the frenzied attack begins. I have saved quilting magazines since the mid to late 80's and have bought dozens at used book stores, thrift shops, yard sales, flea markets, etc.

So now my question is: do you save your old quilt magazines? I have them stacked in my sewing room but they are taking up so much room. It seems like I am always running across a different quilt I want to make.

Are you a magazine hoarder?

Do you just save pics or patterns?

For the best answer to my dilemna on what I could/should do with my quilting magazine hoard, I will be happy to send the winner a few of my doubles, lol, of my hoard. Omg, I am hopeless!

Now all you have to do is blog about this on your blog and let me know you did. If I get 25 comments, I'll throw in a yard of pumpkin orange.

For 100 comments I think a nice assortment of Valdani threads are in order. Have you ever used http://www.valdani.com/ these fabulous threads? To die, or should I say dye, for you can use on your machine or by hand. I love this stuff!!!!

Now be a good little blogger and spread the cheer. And since I love my International friends, they are included in this.

This will end on the 19th of October in the US. Now, wish me luck on my wrist support and help me figure out what to do with these magazines! Thanks, Elaine...the magazine queen!